Virtually all studies show the savings and investments of the rising numbers of older Americans will fall short of their retirement needs. Using one’s home equity with a reverse mortgage is increasingly likely for many seniors as depressed home values begin to recover and support better property appraisals.

Reverse mortgage lenders are attempting to eliminate defaults with future borrowers by requiring senior borrowers to qualify for loans by proving they have enough money to continue paying property taxes, home insurance premiums, and other home upkeep expenses.

MetLife’s new underwriting guidelines went into effect today, and currently they are the only lender to implement specific financial standards for reverse mortgages. Other lenders have said they will implement their own guidelines in coming weeks.

“It’s not just about making sure the borrowers can meet their loan obligations. It’s also to make sure they can successfully age in place and stay in their homes,” says Craig Corn, Reverse Mortgage VP with MetLife Bank.

It’s likely new financial standards will most impact states with high tax and insurance default rates, but it remains to be seen how new measures will be felt nationwide until other lenders come out with their own versions of financial assessment. According to HUD data, higher-valued properties with reverse mortgages are actually less likely to default than those with home values below the median.

Premier Advantage Marketing, your direct mail experts, monitor industry news. For more information about reverse mortgage marketing call us at 888-799-3959.

Special advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Raj Date, agreed there may be a productive use for reverse mortgages and its growth.

Concerned about the repercussions if consumers do not fully understand reverse mortgages, Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) indicates the importance of the CFPB to look at these mortgages with two perspectives. The first perspective being the CFPBs role to protect senior citizens, and the second as overseer of lending practices to regulate the overall mortgage industry.

Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the CFPB must conduct a study on the reverse mortgage industry, and it is required to be completed no later than July 21, 2012.

Premier Advantage Marketing, your direct mail experts, monitor industry news. For more information about reverse mortgage marketing call us at 888-799-3959.

Reverse Mortgage Continuing Education (C.E.) made available to long-term care (LTC) insurance agents and certified financial planners (CFP) will positively impact the world of reverse mortgage.

Education is certainly the best wayto help financial professionals better understand how a reverse mortgage fits as a viable component of an overall retirement plan or strategy, stated Torrey Larsen, President of Security One Lending.

The LTC industry and the Reverse Mortgage industry is a match made for marrying. They both target the same demographic and the rapidly growing senior market is increasingly struggling in the current economic times to pay for healthcare.

Seniors are looking for more realistic ways to afford long-term care, says Michael Banner, C.E. Institute Founder. For many seniors eliminating their monthly mortgage payment thus increasing their monthly disposable income could be the best way for them to afford their long term care.

Security One Lending reached an exclusive agreement with the American Continuing Education (C.E.) Institute, LLC, endorsed by the National LTC (long-term care) Network, to offer Reverse Mortgages: Myth vs. Reality, and made available for two hours of C.E. credit. The class is currently approved in all 50 states for certified financial planners, and is currently being approved in more than 40 states to count toward C.E. requirements to maintain insurance licesnes. The class provides much needed education on the legal, ethical, and moral uses of a reverse mortgage. This education, in turn, can be used to provide interested  seniors with accurate information.

With todays high-quality and federally-regulated reverse mortgages market. we believe this could be a valuable option for our clients to consider, stated Terry Truesdell, Presdient and CEO, The National LTC Network.

Since the largest reverse mortgage players exited the industry, the question as to whether the reverse mortgage could be sustained has been circulating. Even though the reverse mortgage players have been in flux, entrepreneurial companies are in a position to gain.

Are you one of the industry’s newest participants?

You will not need a national presence, a large branch network, or a vast history in reverse mortgage to grow your business. You will need a marketing partner like Premier Advantage Marketing who takes your success as seriously as you do.